Critical Thinking Reflection Essay

Of the topics that I could choose from, I chose to discuss how to reduce poverty in the United States. Poverty in the United States has been something that I have been personally hearing about since I was a child. It has always been a topic during every Presidential debate that I can remember. While growing up, I have always pondered ways of helping others that were less fortunate than myself. This had led me to believe whole-heartedly that the poverty rate can be reduced through several avenues. The first way that poverty can be reduced is by increasing the minimum wage. The current minimum wage is $7.25. â€Å"In the late 1960s, a full-time worker earning the minimum wage could lift a family of three out of poverty† (Vallas, 2014). If the minimum wage back then was indexed to inflation it would be $10.86 per hour today (Vallas, 2014). If the United States would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, it would bring more than 4 million Americans out of poverty (Vallas, 2014). Another major way I feel that the poverty rate in the United States can be decreased is by taxing wealthy a lot more than they are currently being taxed. As of 2010, the lowest 20% of Americans paid an 11.1% tax rate while the top 1% paid only 5.6% (Waldron, 2013). The lowest percentile is paying nearly twice as much in taxes compared to the top 1 percentile. If the taxation of the rich was at a higher percentile then the monies accumulated could go toward programs that could help lift the less fortunate above the poverty line. It may be my personal opinion, but I do feel that the 1% can â€Å"afford† the higher taxes due to them not being affected by it as much as the lower and middle class. Even Warren Buffet stated, â€Å"I would suggest 30 percent of taxable income between $1 million and $10 million, and 35 percent on amounts above that† (Buffet, 2012). If we choose to change these two particular aspects, not only will poverty decrease greatly, but our economy would continue to flourish. Unfortunately, the legislature has the final say so when it comes to taxation of the United States populace. I just hope that one day that everyone can have the same goal in mind and find a way to bring up our fellow Americans from poverty. The critical thinking process I used in regards to formulating a resolution to lowering the poverty rate in the United States is quite similar to the process that we have been using throughout our studies in the classroom. The first step is to â€Å"State the Problem†, which is â€Å"How can we reduce the poverty rate in the United States†. The second step is to â€Å"State the alternatives†, which I described in my reflection above. The third step is to â€Å"Identify the Pros/Cons of each alternative. I will admit that I did skip this step because I felt that the 4th step clarified everything. Step 4 is â€Å"What is the solution†. I truly believe that a raise in minimum wage and the increased taxation of the wealthy would greatly reduce the poverty level within the United States. Step 5 is â€Å"How well is the solution working†. This can’t be evaluated until Congress passes laws to substantiate my alternatives that I put forth. As I stated in a previous assignment, critical thinking can be used in all areas of life. From making decisions regarding your children to that big decision at work, critical thinking can play a pivotal part in the success or failure of a person. Even though critical thinking is a great tool in making decisions, sometimes your â€Å"gut instinct† will overrule logic. It’s just human nature. We, as humans, are emotional at times and can make decisions based off of those emotions. This is the only feasible reason I could see the critical thinking process not working properly. As far as steps that I can take to continue to use critical thinking in the future, I feel that always taking a step back and weighing all options in any situation would require me to think critically. For me to be successful, I must make wise decisions and that comes from using the critical thinking techniques I have learned throughout this course. With these critical thinking techniques â€Å"under my belt†, I have all the necessary tools to  succeed and prosper in today’s society. Reference Page 1. Buffet, W. (2012). A Minimum Tax for the Wealthy. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/opinion/buffett-a-minimum-tax-for-the-wealthy.html?_r=1& 2. Vallas, R. (2014). The Top 10 Solutions to Cut Poverty and Grow the Middle Class. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/2014/09/17/97287/the-top-10-solutions-to-cut-poverty-and-grow-the-middle-class/ 3. Waldron, T. (2013). ‘Fundamentally Unfair’: How States Tax The Richest 1 Percent At Half The Rate Of The Poor. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/01/30/1514461/states-tax-rich-half-poor/

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Gram Positive and gram Negative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

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Learning difficulties - Essay Example It will also discuss government and private citizens’ efforts in supporting individuals with Dyslexia. What is Dyslexia? Dyslexia is a learning disability related to an individual’s difficulty in obtaining skills in reading, writing and spelling (Special Needs Support Pages, 1999). It affects the development of literacy and language related skills (British Dyslexia Association, 2009). It is one disorder that is neurological in origin (International Dyslexia Association: Lyon et al., 2003). It is a permanent condition, however, it can be managed. For example, children with dyslexia have difficulty in spelling words. One way to overcome this is for them to view pictures of words in their minds because this helps them to retain the words and spell them out better (Morton, 2004). Although dyslexic children manifest difficulties in reading and writing words, they are often bright, creative and talented. Some of their strengths may include mechanical aptitude; artistic abilit y; musical gifts; athletic prowess; advanced social skills; and talents in computer/technology, science, and math (Yoshimoto, 2000). Concern for children with disabilities has already spread in the UK from the 1970’s thanks to some advocates such as Mary Warnock who raised the issues on helping children with special education needs (SEN). The Warnock Report in the year 1978 was developed to appraise the provision for children with psychological as well as physical disabilities. The report had sponsored ranges of special needs for children. It paved the way for the â€Å"Education Act† which was imposed in the year 1983. This act presented different methods to the description of children with SEN. It advocated that these children should be able to obtain the educational support from tutors in the classroom such as the provision of extra time and assistance compared to other students (Sturt, 2002). In 1996 the law on SEN stated that: â€Å"A child has special educationa l needs (SEN) if he or she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her† (Education Act, 1996, Section 312). This act mandates local education authorities (LEA) to offer resources in order to recognise and support specific learning problems in children. LEAs were imposed with additional tasks to make an evaluation of children in their disability area (Pumfrey & Reason, 1991). SEN Code of Practice (2001) is the government guidance on meeting the SEN of children with disabilities. Its principles include that children with special needs should have their needs met and that children will normally have their needs met in a mainstream school. With the Special Education Needs Code of Practice (2001), Dyslexia falls under the Communication and Interaction area of need. This area includes learners with speech and language difficulties, impairments and disorders. Children with SEN should have full access to a broad, balanced and relev ant curriculum, including the National Curriculum or, for younger children, the foundation stage curriculum. The children’s views should be taken into account and their parents should be treated as partners of the school (ACE, 2011). Much of what has been described are components of inclusive education. The Education Act of 2010 focuses on supporting inclusion and incorporation of dyslexic children rather than separation and segregation in the school. Inclusive education has evolved towards the idea that all children despite their

Influence of Culture on Global Organizational Practices Essay

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Process Improvement Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Process Improvement Plan - Essay Example Control Chart for Laundry Process Graph between Sorting Time and Days days Control Chart in the above graph between sorting time and days of the week reflects declining trend of time in laundry over the days. Descriptive Statistics of the Laundry Plotting of days on x-axis and sorting time in seconds on the vertical axis is the basis of control charts. CL in the above graph shows the control limit whereas UCL denotes Upper CL and LCL refers to Lower CL within the range of 3?. PIP Steps for Laundry Process through SPC SPC provides statistical measurement of laundry process to apply controls in planning of the laundry process from analytics of data. PDSA cycle consists of the step to apply process improvement plan: (PDSA Cycle, 2007) Plan Variation of cloths distribution in drawer causes the variation in timing of sorting as evident in times measured for sorting in different weeks. Manual measurement of sorting also causes a change in sorting time as it is always approximate. Type of c loth changes in summer or winter season affects the processing time of sorting cloths. Do Segregation of cloths in bins through quick-sorter can minimize the sorting time. It will improve consistency of timings. I will apply appropriate labels on drawers to put clothes in the right bin. Applying labels further assist in arranging cloths in bins and reducing sorting time if clothes are labeled in categories of denim, cotton, delicate, etc. If I can place right cloths in the right category, it will reduce effort of sorting at the time of laundry. Study Study of laundry process for the weeks of observation provides steps of improvement. Control chart further provide insight regarding the impact of changes in laundry process. I study process and impact of changes across six weeks to apply corrective and preventive measurements to optimize the process of laundry for clean clothes in minimum time. Act Chase, Jacobs, & Aquilano (2006) suggest targeting for the next bottleneck after standar dizing the process through reduction in bottleneck. Seasonal Factors affecting the Laundry Process Seasonal factors affect the sorting time of the laundry process as people wear different kind of cloths in winter, summer, or rain. Woolen cloths consume more time in operation of laundry than cotton cloths. Winter season also reduce agility of person that can indirectly affect the timing of laundry. Control Chart Excel is a useful tool for control chart that assists in data driven improvement through applying controls on the process. DMAIC (Define, measurement, analysis, improvement, and control) provides steps for improvement of quality (Chase, Jacobs, & Aquilano, 2006). The six week process of data collection and control measurement of laundry process sets the plan for continuous improvement across the week. Control Limits Aslup and Watson (1993) define the control limit of quality through application of empirical rules between the mean and standard deviation of collected data. The CL refers to mean of the data in the control chart and 3? deviation measures the upper and lower control limit of the chart (Chase, Jacobs, & Aquilano, 2006). Statistical distribution of data dispersion for normal population is shown in the following figure: (Chase, Jacobs, & Aquilano, 2006) 90% Confidence Interval (CI) follows the mathematical formula of ? - z*?/vn to ? + z*?/vn in which significant level is 0.10. Critical value of z for a significant level 0.10 = 1.645